The Magna Carta oak trees
To mark the 800th anniversary of the issuing of Magna Carta, cuttings (scions) were collected from the King John Oak in Devon. Unsuccessful attempts were made to graft them onto new root stock in 2016.
Instead, acorns were collected from the Parliament Oak in Sherwood Forest and 20 were grown in a nursery plot at Ely, Cambridgeshire. It is believed that King John was informed of a revolt by the Welsh while hunting in the forest and hastily summoned a parliament to meet under this tree.
In December 2019, ten successfully grown saplings were delivered for planting at Barons’ villages in England, and one to Lanvallay in Brittany, Walkern’s twin town.
In July 2024, eight have established themselves and one remains to be planted. Only the oak delivered to Little Dunmow in Essex has died and to replace it another is being grown from an acorn collected at Runnymede.